Psalm 46:1-10
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. 6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”
The piece that the choir just sang was so touching and a particularly beautiful setting of Psalm 46. The lyrics keep reminding us over and over again: “He will comfort you. He will keep and strengthen you. He will be your strength and bring you peace.” These words, as well as the verses in all of Psalm 46 are both helpful and necessary, especially as we remember the events of 9/11.
I'm sure we're all in the same place, where yesterday, we had some sort of remembrance of the horrific events of 9/11. Whether we saw it on television, on the news or whether we shared with friend where we were 20 years ago on 9/11. It's hard to believe, because it felt literally like yesterday but reliving that is not what I want to do today. But I do want to acknowledge that it was a really hard and painful place that we all lived in and through together. Now, as well, we are trying to find our way through the additional stress and heartache of Covid. It all just seems too much.
That's exactly why this Psalm is helpful, especially verse 1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” book-ended with verse 10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Both of these verses are used and quoted and repeated to comfort and guide and shield us from anything we might be dealing with. And that's the gift of scripture, especially being able to recall these verses or verse at a time in need or in fear or in deep crisis. Especially though, as we remember in 9/11 while also kicking off peacemaking, which the focus of suicide prevention, it's important to loop in the other eight verses. These give us n even fuller picture of God and God's activity, especially in times of trial, some of which can only be literally understood in the world we find ourselves in today.
The eight verses in the middle talk about two threats. The threats that the psalmist speaks
about are dangers from the earth; the sea and the earth's chaos coupled with the dangers of raging nations, threatening our security and peace. That psalm was written a very long time ago; and, as Proverbs says, “there's nothing new under the sun”. The earth's instability, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, droughts and fires seek to threaten life and stability and warring, evil nations seeking power and total domination. The psalmist is naming these, not to highlight how scared we should be, but the exact opposite. Instead, in spite of these dangers and threats, we have a God who is even more powerful than these--all more powerful than all of these things separately or even combined. God will and does give us refuge in the midst. God is trustworthy. We can fully turn over all that shakes us to our very core, because God's ‘got this’. God's ‘got our backs’. God is aware of what we are all going through as a people and as individuals, especially the things that we fear to name to ourselves, let alone to one another. God is awake. God is actively seeking to destroy all that threatens this community and any community. The question is how do we get from the place of fear… to the place of trust? How do we let go of all those things that we cling so tightly to, in order to feel security, especially in the midst of chaos when anxiety and fear threaten us? Well, to start with, we repeat Verse 10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
One commentator says it pretty much means Stop. Relax. Be calm. But how do we do that? How do we get from those anxiety-ridden places to: Stopping, Relaxing, Being Calm? How do we get from there to here? I can't even relax while I'm watching the US Open! I was watching the quarterfinals and I was on the edge of my seat with a know in my stomach, a tight jaw, tense shoulders…like I was the coach…or even PLAYING THE MATCH! The I realized…“Oh wait, I'm not playing the match. I can relax! I can just sit here and watch. What happens either way, I'm happy with who wins. It's all good.” I can't even relax when I'm watching the British Baking Show and that's across the Pond. “Don't let the chocolate fall—the chocolate trees need to stand up straight!!!!” Then the chocolate falls. Yikes! We take on so much more than even is going on in our own lives.
There was a knighted poet from the 9th Century, and I wish I remembered who it was, but he said, something to the effect: “My life has been full of disaster, most of which has never occurred.” Be[ing] still and know[ing] that I God [is God] is far more than just taking a deep breath, (although that's a very good start). It's actually letting go of the illusion that we are both in control and helpless. We are neither in control nor helpless.
So the only way through is to put the trust back into the One who wills the forces of chaos and evil to cease and desist. It's the One who comes and stills the waters in the midst of the storm. It's the One who commands the sea to part so Israel can escape persecution and death and slavery. It's the One who brings good out of bad, life out of death, freeing us from all of our sinful ways so we can start over again in the morning. Being still is definitely an important step, but it can be transformative when we pair it with the knowledge, the true understanding that God is trustworthy and faithful, especially when we are not. God is not only our Creator and our Redeemer, but also our Sustainer. He's the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
I've loved this Be still and know that I am God verse. I have used it a thousand times in my own times of anxiety and upset. I have shared it with you along the way. Walter Brueggemann, whom I've talked about a lot as an Old Testament scholar, he's a very large, excitable man and he takes a different look at this. He says: “Be still and know that I am God” is not some sappy, cute, little comforting thing that we say when we hurt our finger. This is about trusting in God and God's presence until we are unflappable; until we can realize that God's reliability is far more compelling than any threat that can undermine us. Undermine anything and everything. It's the knowledge, my friends, that we should and can rely on, especially when anxiety takes us over, when fear takes us over, when depression takes us over, when fatigue takes us over. It's way more than a happy/clappy feeling right here (putting hand on heart). Friends, that's wonderful. It’s the knowledge that God is so great, that God is so unfathomable that we don't have to be afraid.
God will bring good out of bad! One of our own was at 9/11 and he escaped. He was highly traumatized by it. I believe, John [Crozier], you were as well. And others including first responders. Judy's daughter went there to help rescue people the next day and countless others in this congregation and beyond. But this one parishioner was in the thick of it as well as trying desperately to get home for his daughter's birthday on 9/11. Her birthday was 9/11. Yesterday was the 20th anniversary. And yesterday, he went down to his daughters to meet and hold his new granddaughter for the first time. God shows us that God is in charge, that God will bring new life, even when it seems impossible, unfathomable, or even in a place we don't think we can overcome.
As Martel pointed out, that bulletin insert is not something that is just at this church. That bulletin insert for Peacemaking was sent to every single church in the denomination and the reason why Natalie [Pirsarcik] is in the insert for PCUSA Peacemaking is because she had the courage to trust God in the darkest of days. She trusted that God’s shining light was there, even when she was in the dark. She could have kept that quiet for the rest of her life, but she had the courage to share it, not only with me, but with you and eleven thousand other churches in the country. I implore you to read the article that I sent you. It is the full article of the interview that Natalie and I had with the PCUSA Mission Agency a number of months ago. We're also doing something called “Between Two Pulpits which is a live Facebook event in a few weeks.
So it's not just being still and breathing in. It's the second part—knowing that God is there to bring us out and through the darkness. We can trust it because...God said so! Thanks be to God. Amen.